


Never Change

by Spycethra



Category: Borderlands, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Genre: AU, Breeding, DragonType!Jack, Dubious Consent, Eventual Smut, Hybrid!Jack, Jealous!Jack, Legendary!Jack, M/M, OCs for Plot Only, Poke Amie, Possessive!Jack, Rape/Non-con Elements, Smut, Trainer!Rhys, Violence, but Handsome Jack is terrifying in this AU, god that last tag makes me sad, rhack - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-08
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2018-08-07 09:04:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7709074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spycethra/pseuds/Spycethra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rhys is Pandora region's last hope for stopping Team Bandit's evil plans. The thing is, he has to do it using the most overbearing asshole legendary Pokemon in the world. <br/>Oh, and if Jack evolves into Handsome Jack, everyone is as good as dead. <br/>No pressure.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Seeking Trainers

**Author's Note:**

> I never thought I'd write "psychopathic Pokemon" in a sentence before. It felt like I accomplished something there. Weird.  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this odd tale.

"Jack killed another trainer."

Professor Tediore scowled as graphic photographs of considerable gore floated between them with such grace unmeant for such brutality. It was difficult to believe that the strewn remains on floor, walls, and ceiling had once been a human being as it was well beyond recognizable.

"...And the head?"

"You really don't want to know..."

There was no question about it. Ever since the day they revived the legendary Pokemon that was Jack, the dragon hybrid had redeveloped a growing trend of violence that the scientists themselves were at a loss on how to stifle.

"This is all that Merriff's fault. He actually had an in with Jack but blew it," Maliwan sighed as she flipped through more pages on her clipboard, "Ever since his stupid Bravo team went renegade, Jack's trust with any of the personnel in this facility has become virtually nonexistent. I mean... Wasn't the Merriff supposed to be his friend? Or an ally at least?"

Tediore tensed at Maliwan's sincerity. She was still an obvious greenhorn.

"Legendaries are not bestowed the privilege of friendship. You would do well to remember that, Professor Maliwan. Also, Jack is a _menace_. Things like loyalty are lost on beasts like him. His only strong point thus far is his inherent strength."

The teenage professor hugged at her notes with brows strewn together in distaste.

"You shouldn't say things like that. Our job is to rehabilitate Jack so he can return to Pandora region. I was merely stating that Bravo team made that harder..." Maliwan countered lowly, not looking at Tediore.

How the Merriff failed to expect that Jack would grow immune to sleep-induced attacks after so many months was a failure no one provided sympathy for anyway. Bravo team was full of a bunch of hot air Concordian junkies anyway. At least Jack had been generous in cremating them. Normally it was damn well impossible to catch a glimpse of Jack performing any of his specials.

Unwilling to argue with a child, Tediore changed the topic. "Professor Maliwan, has Hyperion of Helios region contacted you at all?"

The long, dark haired teen shook her head remorsefully. "He won't return my calls or emails on the matter of Jack. It's not looking good..."

Professor Tediore scrolled through the contents on his Echo watch before new holos emerged for a voice call.

"Oh _really_? Getting _scared_ there, kiddos?"

The two froze where they stood. They knew Jack was a bit of a savant at coding, but how the hell he hacked into facility calls was a whole separate issue.

"Jack? How are you..." Professor Tediore began but the bloody fanged grin plastered on the legendary's face gave him pause.

"Uh, hello. I'm freaking _a-ma-zing_! Duh! So how about it, cupcake? Care to give me the update on my special request for expedited leave from this crap hole?"

Tediore could scarcely even move his lips. Jack wasn't even physically present and it was as if the devilish monster could somehow seize his soul just by hearing his voice. Maliwan gripped his wrist and pulled it toward her with a shaky smile. Someone had to keep their composure after all and Professor Tediore appeared ready to soil himself.

"Jack, you just _murdered_ someone two hours ago."

"Yeah, well, you idiots sent him in. Oh! Which reminds me. You should totally send _Professor Tediore_ in next. I'd _love_ to hear his real thoughts about _me_ and my _loyalty_ to my  _handsome_   _face_ ," Jack's voice was trembling with an excitement mixed with a building rage across the line, "Nothing between us besides these _claws_ digging into that _little_ voice box of his as I rip it out like so and-"

The call cut out as the IT department finally patched Jack's breach.

"About time," Maliwan gasped, having held her breath since Jack first appeared.

"H-He's getting _better_ at it..." Tediore remarked shakily with a shudder, pulling out his handkerchief to dab his forehead, "Those damned code monkeys are useless."

* * *

 

Rhys panted, leaning back in his seat feeling as if he'd run a marathon though in all actuality only his fingers had. The notorious legendary just had to cause another breach.

"Wooh! Go Rhys!" clapped one of the ITs from his desk.

"That was awesome, man!" congratulated another as he gripped Rhys' shoulder in passing.

"Man, leave it up to a legendary to keep us on our toes."

"How does he even do that?" Remarked another in astonishment, "Isn't he in like a secluded resort habitat or whatever?"

"Uh, guys! The real question is: Who cares? What matters is Rhys is the MAN! WOOH!"

Rhys smiled faintly at the praise of his coworkers, still unwilling to move thanks to the weird tingling in his real hand and glitchy motions in the robotic one. Jack was a hell of a challenge every time he got out of hand. Though Rhys would never say it aloud, he always felt a special sort of connection with the once Hero of Elpis region during their bouts through code.

And it wasn't the simple rivalry type either.

For a long time, Rhys found himself almost almost in a strange sort of conversation with the psychopathic Pokemon. At first, Rhys was terrified of the sort of assault Jack committed against their systems. But because Jack loved terrorizing the hell out of everyone in the facility, Rhys gained a lot of practice against the legendary.

And at times, he couldn't help but wonder if Jack somehow knew about him... If Jack somehow noticed his growth or perhaps even his potential...

Rhys shook the thought from his head with a sad sigh. He was only kidding himself. People like him didn't end up with incredible Pokemon like that. He was better off getting a starter from one of the professors but...

There was a reason he strove so hard to come to this facility in particular.

* * *

 

Tediore trembled after withdrawing his wrist from the complacent girl. How wasn't she more terrified?

Unwilling to be one-upped by some amateur, he quickly composed himself yet gradually proceeded to remove his watch as though it burned him to wear.

"And Professor Atlas?" He asked curtly, struggling with the lone strap.

"...Still missing," she replied crestfallen as she cast her deep blue gaze to the floor.

"Professor Tediore, don't you think we're in a little over our heads with this one? We can't keep sending more trainers like this just because they volunteer."

Honestly, he was beginning to question that himself... And that ticked him off.

"And what do you expect we do? Tell people the truth? We need someone and we need them now."

"Could we at least filter them? We can't risk any more drops in Jack's tolerance levels."

Tediore couldn't handle anymore of the novice's insolence. What did those lives truly matter anyway if not forgone for science? He scoffed but finally came to a conclusion.

"Fine. You filter them. Every applicant must undergo an interview with you before being allowed entry to Jack's chambers."

The look of sheer apprehension in the girl's eyes was far sweeter than he anticipated.

"B-But... That's more than a hundred a day... I-"

Tediore shrugged nonchalantly.

"If you can't find a suitable trainer to tame Jack soon, there'll be no other choice left but to re-exterminate him. Permanently. This is all yours now, Maliwan."

Maliwan watched the stubborn man go, clearly abandoning her to the skags. Rolling ideas in her mind, the young professor came to but a single conclusion.

...She was _so_ fucked.

* * *

 

"Hey, Rhys. You stayin'?"

Asked one of his coworkers as they were already packed up and ready to go home.

Rhys barely noticed the time go by, checking his computer display's time in surprise. He'd been interacting with a sealed copy of the coding Jack used earlier that day. Something about it felt... different.

It was tougher, sure. But there was definitely something else.

"Yo, man. I doubt Jack's gonna attack again tonight. It's only fun for him when there's people to do the screaming."

"Yeah, no point attacking an empty building."

"Ah, thanks guys," Rhys replied with a sheepish grin as he rubbed the back of his neck, "But I'll be all right. Jack used something a little different today so I just want to be a step ahead in the game, you know?"

"All right, nerd," one called endearingly out as the group left, "Just don't wear yourself out. We need our ace!"

"Bye guys!" Rhys rolled his eyes as they left.

Honestly, he didn't like any of them. If they cared more about their jobs, maybe Jack wouldn't perform so many breaches... Then again, if Jack didn't cause so much havoc, his paycheck would probably be a lot lower as well as the awards displayed upon his desk.

Turning back to his computer, Rhys tweaked the code a bit longer, finding it so strange how Jack chose to rearrange it. It was a frightening concept but... Rhys was fairly certain that the legendary was far better at hacking than he was letting on...

And then a single backspace started it all as his screen went black without warning. Rhys froze where he sat, uncertain what sort of demented software tripwire he may have set off. A few seconds passed before bright yellow letters appeared boldly on the screen.

"HEYA, KIDDO!"

"WANNA PLAY?"


	2. Poke Amie Practice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be honest. DID NOT expect so many people to like this. But thanks to your encouragement, I bring you the second chapter.  
> Big shout out to you lovely folks that kept filling my inbox when I started to falter in finishing this chapter. 
> 
> And for this chapter's spotlight!  
> If you guys enjoy some phenomenal writing, please, please check WickedIntentions out! "Fanning the Flames" as well as "Cracks in the Mirror" are mindblowingly written. (Plus she's making a comiiiiic!)  
> So hit those up! You won't regret it.
> 
> Have fun, luvs~! You're all stunning.

"It _really_ wasn't supposed to play out like that."

Maliwan looked up from her readings in slight surprise at the admittance. Within the small room, Jack sat hunched on the examination table with brows furrowed vexingly just behind her. The teenage professor smiled to herself as she resumed typing at the computer in front of her. The Pokemon's pranks had quite literally _caught_ up with him.

About time too.

"Honestly, Jack, no one saw it coming. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself," she reassured him half heartedly whilst inputting the morning's results.

The legendary seemed more sour than before. Her words of comfort were poorly rehearsed, if rehearsed at all. As an elite Pokemon, he should have never been caught by a complete _novice_. His trainer didn't even _have_ a Pokemon to defend himself with when Jack incited the programmer to enter his domain.

It _should've_ been a landslide victory.

Jack grumbled inaudibly into his palm while his elbow rested firmly on his knee. His wings flicked with his growing annoyance.

No one saw it coming, huh?

Jack sincerely doubted that. After all, Rhys was the whole reason he was getting this check up...

"I'm telling you, Jack. You're a perfectly healthy legendary, like you always are," Maliwan chimed as she dug her hands into her coat pockets in search of a pen.

Jack slid off the examination table still very much unconvinced.

"Riiiight," he replied as he retrieved his shirt, "So there's really _no_ explanation as to why I'm so antsy right now?"

Professor Maliwan opened her mouth but immediately closed it. She knew exactly what Jack was feeling but whether he was ready to hear it was an entirely separate issue.

"So that kiss has _nothing_ to do with this?"

The hybrid frowned all the more as the professor was clearly holding something back. She had retrieved her pen now and was pretending to analyze it between her fingers with a strained smile.

"Uh... Well..."

Jack hated that look. It was as deceiving as it was potentially lethal.

"Look. It was _just_ a Sweet Kiss, Jack. It's meant to confuse the opponent. Nothing special there."

Just a Sweet Kiss, his ass. The teenager was hiding something.

"I _know_ that, princess," he growled back slightly, "What I _want_ to know is why the _hell_ I can't stop thinking about my _trainer_. And where the heck is he anyway? It's been two weeks now! Who catches ME and just up and leaves!!"

In his incensed outburst, Jack ended up tail whipping a small trash receptacle into the near wall. It clanged loudly before rolling feebly to the corner. Jack made no attempt to even look as glared at the professor impatiently. Maliwan, on the other hand, just pouted at the two crumpled paper ball mess he had created on her once pristine floor. Now she was going to have to find a janitor.

How inconvenient.

"I _told_ you that he's training for the mission you both will be undergoing," she declared, her sweetness faltering away, "So quit asking."

Jack sulked a little, knowing he might've lost his only shot for answers, as he reached for his jacket on the hook. If his abilities weren't sealed, he could easily threaten her for the details on his trainer. Instead, he had to resort to playing nice.

"Yeah, well, he shouldn't be training without me..." He grumbled back.

The legendary had no idea how precious he seemed right now, languishing over his unsuspecting trainer. Maliwan even found the sight a little too infectious to ignore.

She'd seen a lot of things, but this... this was unheard of.

Who would have thought that the infamous dragon would be caught by an amateur using a kiss as a _finisher_?

In fact, it almost seemed perfect considering that Jack received no further harm after his shields were successfully dropped. He barely had a scratch on him, save for his bruised pride. Normally a Pokemon was beaten senseless until forced into critical condition, all in order to lower its resistance to capture. And yet Rhys kept Jack's health perfectly in the green.

A single kiss attack and Jack's confusion sent him into the ball of his own volition. At least that was what the IT reported in his statement. Jack had hacked the surveillance of his domain, so there was no footage of the actual battle. Yet considering the assortment of burns and scrapes Rhys had, it _seemed_ believable.

Maliwan raised her eyes back to the strained face of Jack.

Whether the trainer was aware of it or not, Jack was definitely going to return to being a pain everyone's ass if left neglected again. This left the young professor to wonder if Rhys even knew of Jack's severe lack of social contact since his revival. After all, he had been isolated for several months.

"So there's really nothing else?" Jack asked one more time, looking miserable.

The dragon obviously wanted her to delay his return to his chamber. His gloved fingers drummed on the doorway he was already partially out of, waiting painfully.

He looked so vulnerable that she really didn't want to send him back to his vivarium. Jack clearly loathed being there, despite it being a volcanic hot springs resort. The 'habitat' was created to ensure the legendary's anger stayed at a minimum as theories for the origin point of the Handsome Jack evolution namely stemmed from his excessive rise in both paranoia and outrage.

Just as the other professors did, Maliwan observed the dragon hybrid as he dolefully passed the time, always alone in his chamber. Several of the others insisted Jack was displaying incredible progress. Rhys had him enrolled in several advanced virtual trainings as well as constructed a strict yet healthy feeding regiment.

Yes, Jack was doing exceptionally better... _on paper_.

Her private analysis of his emotional state, however, proved inconclusive. He wasn't happy being avoided. Even as they told him otherwise, the hybrid wasn't asinine enough to believe them. His trainer was keeping the Pokemon at bay for some reason.

And then there was the matter of Rhys himself... but Torgue already had people on that. Hopefully, they weren't exploding everything.

Jack had been hungering for his trainer's attention for days now. Rhys visited but it was always a brief and strict meeting. This hardly seemed appropriate behavior for an amateur not only catching his first Pokemon but a _legendary_ Pokemon at that. Rhys was unnaturally calm, stoic even, while Jack...

The hybrid drummed his fingers a little louder, still awaiting an answer.

"Professor, I-"

"You should go see Professor Vladof." Maliwan blurted without thinking anymore.

She'd probably get probation for this but she really wanted to test something out. Besides, Professor Vladof would definitely have her back. These two needed to bond ASAP, whether Rhys needed to be drugged into it or not.

Pandora's time was running out.

"... _Why_?" Jack asked in return with growing annoyance.

He obviously assumed he'd have to deal with more useless, relentless tests.

"Oh. I dunno," Maliwan shrugged nonchalantly before returning to face her computer, "Rhys might be having an appointment with her right now? You might even bump into him, _coincidentally_ , if you get there fast enough. But uh... I'm just talking to myself."

Jack eyed her a moment before smirking.

"Thanks, princess. You won't regret it!" He insisted before allowing her to undo the security clamps on the exit.

His takeoff created a whirlwind that threatened to whisk all of her notes away. Peeking out, Maliwan watched the dragon type soar for the Vladof Sector.

Should she have told him?

Letting the doors hiss shut, the professor shook her head knowingly.

How did one go about explaining to a legendary that his affliction wasn't the typical Burn or Poison but was actually... just a mere crush? Jack would never admit to such a thing. He would probably deny it with every scale, hair, and cell on his cloned being but that would only complicate things.

"He'll figure it out," she sighed as she tapped her chin with her pen, feeling filled with delight.

Crush sounded like a good status ailment. At least it was better than the short term roofie that was Charm. Could she make a Crush Gun? Vladof might-

Suddenly remembering the other woman, she hurriedly pulled out her Echo, contacting Professor Vladof.

"Mali, vhat is it?" Came the familiar dialect, "Poke Amie simulation, very delicate. Vhy ze interruption?"

"A dragon is about to raid your castle for the princess."

A knowing chuckle sounded across the line.

"I'll bring out ze cutest vone."

* * *

 

 

After so many long months of Jack's torment, it was a nice break for the professors to finally have their shot at pranking him back. Especially since his more lethal moves were sealed unless Rhys released them.

The only downside was that it was at the expense of the trainer himself.

"What. The hell. Is _this_?"

Jack had just freshly hacked his way into the Vladof section to find the sight of his nightmares.

There in the center of laboratory, _his_ trainer was knelt down and _petting_ another Pokemon. Jack couldn't even get Rhys to stay more than a few seconds with him, yet here he was with a freaking _Teddiursa_ of all things.

Both trainer and bear looked over at the intruding legendary unexpectedly.

Gritting his teeth shut, Jack approached them with fists tight at his sides.

"Is this _training_ , cupcake? Is this how we _train_ now?" The dragon accused, eyes flashing furiously between them at the betrayal.

"Teddiursa..." whined the much smaller Pokemon as it wisely hid itself behind Rhys.

Jack was about to go _off_ when he saw the bear Pokemon's paws curled on Rhys' pant leg.

"Oh _no_ you don't, you _little_ -!" He marched forward, more than ready to curb stomp the stupid stuffed animal into the next dimension.

"Jack." Rhys greeted with firm disapproval as he rose to stand.

Hearing his name, Jack stopped but his fury was still there. He was raring to go beat the hell out of someone or something. His mismatched eyes held a deadly stare down with the Teddiursa which was already tearing up in terror as it trembled by Rhys' shoe.

Two weeks. _Two weeks_ of doing _exactly_ what Rhys asked him to and _this_ is what Jack got? What a friggin' _legendary_ got?

"Who the _hell_ do you think you're dealing with, kiddo? You say my name like you know who you're talking about but I," Jack pinched the bridge of his nose with a manic laugh before letting go, "you see, I am just not convinced that you _do_!"

He threw Rhys a nasty look, daring him to deny any of it. The cybernetic man stood there watching him with an indifference that pissed the legendary off even more.

"Are you done?"

At least the Teddiursa quaking behind Rhys knew it was in for an inevitable Firestorm as it hopped away in fright. Rhys watched the Pokemon flee, sighing to himself. Jack in the meantime was ready to throw his trainer against the wall.

"Done?" He snarled out with wings extending to bolster his size, " _Done_!?"

Jack leapt forward but barely halted himself just inches from Rhys' extended and fully charged arm. The palm's light held small arcs of electricity just daring the hybrid to try his chances. Their eyes were locked ruthlessly at one another, just waiting for the other to make a move.

"Why haven't you come to see me?" Jack finally ground out.

If the legendary was going to be shocked into a near coma, he at least wanted that answer before he went.

"Because it isn't _necessary_ ," Rhys retorted callously.

Jack felt himself shiver at his trainer's austerity as he finally quieted down. When he first challenged Rhys, he never envisioned the IT to be so damn astringent. But Rhys was capable, and that's what these absurd professors needed to save the world it seemed.

But there had to be some sort of wild misunderstanding. There just had to, because if there wasn't, Jack was probably going to devour every Pokemon in that room out of sheer spite.

He did his check ups. He ate his Poke Blocks (even the bitter ones!) every day. He arrived early to every stupid VR training and even broke a record.

Jack did all that just to get Rhys to _come fucking see him_.

But here the bastard was petting _other Pokemon_.

Rhys dipped down his eyes, a ballsy move, as he checked his robotic arm for the time.

"You should be with Professor Maliwan," he reminded the legendary sternly, not even bothering to give Jack a second glance.

Jack's fury dissipated at Rhys' refusal to acknowledge him. He was damned if he did as he was told and he was damned if he took the initiative.

Professor Vladof surveyed the two from her adjoining office, debating on whether or not to intervene. Rhys seemed to have a handle on Jack, but as Maliwan warned, he was too cold. The last person to be so domineering to the legendary was the former Professor Hyperion... who Jack strangled to death just before spurning his evolution.

And they really didn't need a repeat of that.

Vladof maintained her focus to the argument, analyzing them quietly. There was no turning back now. Rhys was Jack's trainer, so they were going to have to learn to get along. Otherwise Rhys would have to face an _unfortunate accident_ , despite the pleas of Maliwan to remain discreet. However, Vladof was much too preoccupied with trimming her cuticles to bother finding the elusive phone book of bargain assassins just yet.

" _Oh_! _Okay_! I get it, kiddo! So you can _kiss_ me but you can't be bothered to _touch_ me."

Rhys rolled his eyes at Jack's ludicrous insinuation before carefully crossing his arms. The charge was still armed and ready should Jack attempt to charge him again.

"And why would I _ever_ want to do that?" The trainer shot back to which the professor groaned out loud.

This was only going to get worse.

"Both of you, Miststücks, shut up. Rhys. My office. Zis instant."

Rhys was stunned at her sudden change in mood, quickly eyeing Jack disdainfully.

"I-"

"Wait. Here." Rhys commanded to which his legendary glowered back before begrudgingly taking a seat.

The door shut behind Rhys as he sat down from across the oddly accented woman as she continued performing her self-manicure.

"You need ze Poke Amie, Rhys."

Rhys scoffed as he crossed his arms again.

"With all due respect, Professor Vladof, I don't see what the big deal is. He's a legendary. What use does he have for the Poke Amie?" Rhys snapped, his true colors showing through all the more.

"...Ve see zat you have a great deal of hatred to Pokemon," Vladof surmised aloud as she began to lotion her hands.

Rhys stilled at her conclusion yet said nothing. He wondered if that lotion application was a trick to calm him down to the scent of lavender. In a way, it was working. The cybernetic man felt himself beginning to relax despite all the stress foisted upon him.

"Vhatevar your past, Trainer, zat does not change ze facts. Pokemon are not machines. Zhey require affection just as humans do."

"But I caught him."

Vladof sat surprised by his sheer apathy in answering. He sounded just like Professor Atlas. She gently shook her head with a sympathetic smile, unwilling to delve into memories of the deceased.

"Non. You'll never unlock his true potential zis vay." Professor Vladof carefully inspected his expression, yet Rhys was very careful to portray nothing.

It left her feeling eerie.

"Tell me, Rhys. Do you know zee true tale of ze Handsome Jack?"

* * *

 

 

Jack sighed as he watched the minutes tick by. He knew Professor Vladof's office had another door in it for his trainer to escape, but Jack was adamantly insistent on believing in the guy. Rhys told him to wait... so he was waiting.

That's what good Pokemon did right?

Jack quietly fiddled with his watch, taking it off only to put it on again. Then he would repeat the action over. The boredom was tiring him out.

Actually, the whole having a trainer thing was nerve wracking. He only ever had one and that was in his previous life. Only that ended in the unspeakable... Jack then eyed the professor's office door in question. She must have already told Rhys of his past.

But would Rhys be different? Different from those that used and betrayed him? Was it wrong for the legendary to want him to be? So far, however, Rhys just seemed like another Harold Tassiter...

Jack knocked over a nearby stool with his tail in irritation. It clamored to the floor, scaring the caged Pokemon nearby, but he didn't care. Where the hell was Rhys?

The door finally opened and Jack immediately regretted his failure to contain his attentiveness to his trainer's every move. Rhys stepped out first followed by the professor. He looked grim. Vladof, however, just smiled as she pat the IT encouragingly on the shoulder.

"Ze fate of Pandora is on your shoulders," she told him smugly to which Rhys simply looked away with distaste.

Jack flapped his wings a little to regain his trainer's attention. He waited long enough, dammit. But of course in doing so, he summoned a gust that made even more of a mess of the lab. Damn. He'd forgotten his own strength.

But Jack refused to cringe under Rhys' disapproving glare. Instead he shrugged uncaringly before purposefully knocking over another chair with his tail.

"Jaaaack," Rhys called warningly, dropping his crossed arms.

Ooh, so being bad did garner more attention than being good. Jack mused to himself before looking for anything else he could mess up.

Rhys readied to pull his stun baton yet Vladof cut him off.

"Why do children act out, Rhys?" She asked him lowly, "Do zey do it to be ze little brats ze are? Or... is it zeir last resort?"

Rhys thought the woman had gone mad. The dragon hybrid was currently knocking over priceless lab instruments and... and she didn't mind?

Then what she was trying to tell him finally clicked.

Jack wanted attention. His attention. But why?

"You are _such_ a pain," Rhys admitted aloud as he closed in on the unruly Pokemon.

Jack turned to him with a nasty growl. His tail was rigid and low against the floor while his pupils grew menacingly, teeth bared.

"Do you _really_ want the Poke Amie feature?" Rhys asked him, not entirely believing it.

The Amie seemed more reserved for cutesy, childlike Pokemon. Not creatures like legendaries that were Dragon/Dark types.

Jack stilled with surprise clear on his face. His body language started to relax and he even seemed ready to relent the bad boy act until the Teddiursa dared peek out from behind one of the machines.

The legendary then turned his head with an indignant snort of obvious rejection.

 _Okay_ , Rhys thought with exasperation, _Jack's being stubborn_.

He considered turning back to Vladof but he refused to lower himself any further. There was assistance and there was hand holding. And Rhys never needed hand holding. Besides, there seemed to be no other options anyway, and it was more than apparent what the professor wanted to see.

Activating his Echo eye, Rhys scrolled through his menu.

**Poke Amie selected.**

**Please select your Pokemon.**

Naturally, there was only Jack in his inventory. Rhys focused his selection on Jack whilst the hybrid himself tilted his head up impatiently.

"What's the hold up, cupcake?"

"Hang on. It's setting up. And don't call me cupcake."

**Jack selected.**

**Affection: 0/5**

**Fullness: 1/5**

**Enjoyment: 1/5**

The trainer's brows raised in disbelief. How did Jack's stats get so low?

As if reading his mind, the professor called out to him from where she was picking up after Jack's tantrum, "Zere are no true shortcuts in zis world, Rhys. _You vill have to pay ze piper, eventually_."

The cybernetic man watched Jack with no expression, yet deep down he felt a sense of guilt for neglecting him. Not that he would ever show it.

The program launched and it surrounded the duo within its ridiculously cheery holographic confines. Once it fully loaded, it was about time to give the legendary the equally ridiculous affection he so craved.

Pokemon were all the same anyway.

 _Weak_.

Rhys reached out slowly, a burdened look on his face when Jack startled him.

"Just _praise_ me, dammit. I worked hard enough as it is..."

Jack had meant to say it too low for his trainer to hear, but the sugar coated laugh that escaped the trainer spoke otherwise. Jack immediately lifted his head from where he sat to see Rhys actually smiling a little. It wasn't much but it was there.

And it was _real_ this time.

Rhys, in the meantime, heard the soft coo of artificial birds in the background. He had to admit, the Poke Amie was... actually really nice. There was even a gentle breeze across the grass that made the place even more believable while the skies remained a peaceful blue. For just a moment, he remembered being out where it wasn't just metal corridors or vast wasteland...

A tinge of guilt laced his smile. How could he forget something so important?

It wasn't that he hated Pokemon.

He hated _losing_ them.

"Jack," Rhys called, gently cupping the his dragon's face while staring deeply into those heterochromatic eyes, "You'll be strong. Won't you?"

The legendary struggled to keep his eyes open. It's been far too long since he'd been touched by skin that wasn't his.

"You best believe it, Rhysie. I'll kick everyone's ass if you just... don't stop... I'll..."

Jack opened his mouth to say... something, but whatever it was simply drifted from his mind the second Rhys' fingers traced through his hair. The dragon almost _purred_ with delight as he nuzzled Rhys' hand.

"Just promise me that you'll be strong enough to never lose to anyone... That... no one can take you away..."

Jack wasn't sure where this sudden emotion from Rhys was coming from but like hell if he was going to waste his chance. His tail snuck around the off-guard trainer, snagging him around the hips to pull him closer. Rhys tensed with fear for his safety as he stumbled forward only to feel a sense of relief as Jack simply nuzzled his chest.

The dragon took a gentle hold of his partner's waist above his tail, still gently growling up at his welcome master.

"You're so soft, Rhysie," Jack sighed as he breathed the other in.

He hated smelling that stupid bear as well as other Pokemon on him but that would be remedied in due time. The hybrid chose to simply enjoy a contact he had been deprived of for so long, from a person that actually meant something.

Rhys had a hard time keeping up his unfeeling routine, especially with such a powerful creature damn near cuddling him. He decided to get a little gutsy as he traced his hand down to Jack's neck, eventually scratching softly beneath the hybrid's chiseled chin.

"So gentle," the dragon teased lowly with eyes closed while Rhys traced the other side.

"Shhh."

Rhys had already learned the hard way that no Pokemon enjoyed being touched by his metal arm. So to keep himself from trying, he kept the robotic arm behind his back.

"Hey, Rhys? You can be rough with me," Jack told him through half-lidded eyes, "I won't break."

His trainer swallowed hard as he felt electricity shoot down somewhere that blood _really_ shouldn't be rushing to in this situation. In a panic, Rhys accidentally bumped one of Jack's horns causing the dragon to growl with discontent, instantly withdrawing his head.

"Not the horns, pumpkin," he warned strictly.

Fortunately that was enough to break Rhys out of Jack's powerful allure as he seemed back to his old self. With his heart still racing fast, Rhys checked his Pokemon's stats.

**Jack**

**Affection: 2/5**

**Fullness: 0/5**

**Enjoyment: 4/5**

Well, at least Jack was happier. Though he was definitely in need of some nourishment soon. Deactivating the Poke Amie setting, the hologram vanished and they were back within Vladof's lab. The professor was standing by with a smirk.

"Very good, both of you. Really," she complimented while eyeing the fact that Jack still very much hanging onto him rather suggestively.

Rhys opened his mouth several times like a gaping Magikarp to no avail. Flustered was a nice change from stoic.

"It's exactly what it looks like. Got a problem, Professor?" Jack challenged, tail coiling possessively around Rhys despite the man's effort to remove it.

"Non, non. I'm proud of you. But now ze real test begins."

* * *

 

 

Maliwan was more than ready to call it a night as she packed her things to go home. With a yawn, she slid on her pack only to groan as her Echo beeped inside. She lazily reached around Maliwan instantly awoke as adrenaline pumped through her veins.

"Professor Torgue?" She asked while she held her Echo tightly to her while ensuring no one else was around.

"MALIWAN! I DID WHAT YA ASKED ME AND CHECKED THAT RHYS GUY OUT!"

"And?"

"YOU WERE ****** RIGHT! TOTALLY ******* FAKE! NONE OF HIS STUFF MATCHES!"

She felt her heart sink. This would devastate Jack for sure. Rhys was probably an assassin or a poacher. The usual suspects when it came to forging identities.

"So what is he then? An assassin right? Those cybernetics can't be for show."

The line went quiet.

"Torgue?" 

"THAT'S JUST IT! WE CANT FIND **** ON THIS GUY!!"

"What do you mean?! Torgue, I swear if this is a prank-"

"HE'S TOTALLY WIPED, MALI! NO TRACES! NOTHING! ITS ******* CRAZY! I MEAN, IS HIS NAME EVEN RHYS?!"

She didn't even bother ending the call properly as her trembling fingers dialed for Vladof. She needed to stop them from leaving tomorrow. She needed-

A click sounded that someone picked up.

"Vladof! Damn it! Vladof!"

"Shite! Vhat do you vant, Malivan? I'm-"

"Get Rhys away from Jack! We've had a breach! We can't let them-"

"Vhat are you talking about? Mali, they Fast Traveled over _two hours ago_."

The Echo fell from her hands as she slid down the wall. Her world was spinning in vertigo as she held the floor.

Someone just fucking took Jack.

And they had no idea fucking _who_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Have additional commentary or ideas you'd like to see with your fave pair?  
> Hit me up at  
> http://spycethra.tumblr.com/
> 
> Stay classy. <3
> 
> PS: Who do YOU think Rhys is?   
> I'd love to see if someone guesses right.


	3. Remember Handsome Jack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Darkness approaches... And gore... A lot of that... Violence too...   
> Just don't slip on the bodies...   
> And DON'T let Handsome Jack find you...   
> Even if you love him, do so at your own peril. (Seriously.)   
> Enjoy.

_"Well, well. Would ya take a look at this,” the voice cooed with curdled cruelty, “It's an Atlas brat, boys! First one to give me his limbs gets a--”_

_Rhys refused to listen to the rest bandit warlord’s cryptic demands as he shakily slid his blood-slickened keycard. The bastards had already taken **one** of his arms, now they wanted **everything**? He stumbled through the slow opening steel doors, gripping his open wound with borderline hysteria. _

_It was really gone. Really, really gone. Gone. No hope of reattachment. No hope. Simply. **Gone**._

_Rhys’ frenzied terror nearly tripped him over a mauled lab assistant’s leg, ripping his pant leg on the shattered bones as they protruded sharply from the deceased’s violently ruptured skin. He gagged involuntarily as the sight as well as the sound of slick organs as they dragged openly across the floor._

_The excessive pain killers did their job in stifling the pain to a tolerable burning sensation but nothing could quell his almost crippling horror to the mindless destruction._

_There was nothing left beyond the flames that devoured the once proud standing facility. Prototypes unfinished were beaten and mangled. Creatures in their cages were shot point blank as a form of festive execution. Corpses of the unwilling surrounded him while several skags leapt about with houndooms in search of dying meat. Two, three, four howled in his direction, announcing their freshly damaged find within the sealed compartment._

_Wild bestial whoops filled air as psycho trainers sprinted for the insidious howls with a variety of melee weaponry clutched in their calloused hands - grit with dirt, blood, and decay._

_“More screaming!! More!!”_

_“Let me taste the jelly of your eyes in my hands!”_

_“Your blood is sweetest red!”_

_This was it, Rhys decided bitterly as he pressed his bloodied form against the wall. His hand gripped himself harder, being his sole tourniquet in surviving this nightmare._

_Not that he expected to survive for much longer. The psycho trainers had begun beating madly at the observation glass, cracks gradually beginning to form from their barbaric determination._

_“Out of the way! I said, OUT OF THE WAY!”_

_The trio of psychos didn't have a proper moment to react as the vile Crimper made his appearance, crushing them all with his impossible landing. Rhys pushed himself as far back as he could with his feet, slipping on the bodily fluids of his once soon to be employees. He might've thrown up had the adrenaline in his veins not forced his focus to the prime danger at hand._

_Crimper’s massive form was like that of a goliath’s only much greater in mass as his every step created a loud, resounding quake. Rhys felt his senses wavering as his skin became far more pallid and sticky than before and his breathing becoming more labored. Maybe he’d be lucky enough to bleed out before Crimper punched out the glass with a single swipe of his enormous hands._

_“ATLAAAS! Come out, come out!”_

_The glass exploded into a wave of shards scattering throughout the air. Rhys stayed shivering against the back wall, a sense of overwhelming regret filling him. His inheritance had fallen to an asinine massacre. All thanks to these insidious bandits which Rhys lacked any power to stop._

_So much for being the last of the Atlas bloodline…_

_Crimper neared him with each thundering step._

_“FEE-FI-FO-F-” The fitting quatrain was never completed as the warlord’s arm literally detonated at the shoulder._

_As chunks of the bandit leader flew into the air, a loud cackling swam through the facility._

_“Ahahaha!! He actually FELL for it! Crimper, I always knew you had piss for brains but COME ON! You bandits keep makin’ this too easy!”_

_The army of robots as well as steel and electric type Pokemon bursting beyond an exploding wall was the last thing anyone anticipated to happen next. They bore the mark of Hyperion but it meant little considering the professor’s recent murder at the hands of the very legendary that landed atop the highest point of the facility._

_“You ready, Crimper? Because I've just been **dying** to kill more of you bandit scum.”_

_“RAaarrRRGHH!!” clamored Crimper as his second limb proceeded to explode off before he could remove the attached shielding._

_The bandit chieftain didn't have a chance. To say Handsome Jack mauled him was putting the messy massacre gently. The legendary gleefully tore the insane sadist to a disturbingly organized row of bloody pieces whilst ensuring the screaming man felt every part of him ripped asunder. Digit by shattered digit, the disaster dragon type brutally disassembled him until the deranged Crimper was but a broken, sobbing shell of himself. Any psycho trainers that dared to interfere were felled with fire hot enough to render them pools of melted organic matter against the earth._

_The fight had been so quick… And then…_

_Rhys cried out as a healing hypo was shoved carelessly into his single arm. It forced him awake to see the very pair of heterochromatic eyes that he would fail to unsee for the rest of his life._

_“What's yer name, kiddo?” asked the ‘hero’ with an expression of faint interest._

_The young man’s teeth chattered violently, nearly separating him from his own tongue as he tried to speak. The shock was clearly beginning to settle in again despite the healing agent as he trembled vulnerably against the wall. It didn't help that he was staring the notoriously handsome sadist in the face._

_The tyrant of Helios licked his lips at the tantalizing sight of misery and gore wrapped around the lone survivor like a gift topped with a bloodied bow. The way the this weakling looked was simply impossible for the legendary to ignore. So helpless and pathetic._

_So… **malleable**._

_“Huh. You're actually kinda cute like this, sweetheart.”_

_Handsome Jack’s claw gripped his bloody chin without remorse for the additional pain he gave the traumatized youth. His eyes glowed with newfound interest as he was met with a weak gaze of hate. Not many ever dared to look him straight in the eye. And certainly not with that pathetic level of contempt._

_But something about the dying cream puff that intrigued the dragon as he extended his wings slightly. There it was. An Atlas insignia gleamed on the lapel of the other’s filth ridden jacket. Rhys’ eyes could only squeeze shut in frustration as he squirmed weakly with the final remnants of resistance still welled in his chest._

_“Feisty too? Oh ho! I'm **definitely** keeping you. Never had a professor for a pet before. I think I'll put you in a ball too. Seems **fitting** , right?”_

_“I-I'm n-not- a pr-pr-” Rhys stuttered through the shock, feeling his heartbeat even more shallow than before._

_The hybrid’s wicked smirk threatened to tear his face in two as he forced the other to his feet despite the growing cries of agony it caused. The painkillers had worn off and Rhys’ mind was being bombarded with too many signals at once. The dictator’s claws tore into his ruined shirt as he hoisted the fatally wounded Atlas heir off the ground, showcasing him to the privatized battalion._

_“Look right here, everyone! I caught my first **professor**.”_

_Handsome Jack suddenly yanked him close, pressing their gore ridden forms together with a gruesome grin that practically sang of the brutality to come. He pressed his forehead against his newly caught Atlas with an twisted expression of fondness._

_“We’re gonna have some **real** fun now, **Atlas**."_

_Then the legendary sealed the dark promise he made with a virulent kiss._

\---

The thick taste of blood awoke the trainer abruptly. His throat was painfully sore and a repulsive layer of sweat clung to his skin. Open mouthed, he swallowed the cold night air in desperate gulps as though he may never taste its purity ever again. The thought of stale, repurposed air or the crude scent of copper had him trembling with anxiety. 

No. He wasn't in the Vault Sphere. He wasn't. 

He was lying in his tent within the Restless Wildwood awaiting confirmation on the movement of Dahl forces in order to reach the Bleeding Vale. After that it'd be a straight shot through the abandoned Eridium mines to Overlook. 

Not the Vault Sphere. 

Rhys attempted to rise only to realize that he was being _touched_ in the darkness of his tent, blood still mysteriously pooled in the corner of his inner cheek. Instinct took over as he immediately initiated his Tesla Skin protocol which elicited a nasty growl of pain from his unknown assailant. The grip removed itself as the large shadow that once hovered over him yanked itself away, large draping appendages prodding at the sides of the tent with his retreat.

“Son of a _taint! Fff-_ "

Reality began to register itself back in the auburn haired man’s mind as the dreadfulness of the nightmare ebbed away into the shirking dark as his palm light came on. His Pokemon was hissing down at his freshly shocked hands before returning his aggravated gaze to the paranoid trainer. It had been Jack’s tall wings that were currently deforming the shape of his tent.

“What the _hell_ was that for?” The dragon demanded rather miffed for having been attacked for seemingly no reason in his eyes.

“I told you a _thousand_ times, Jack. _Stay_ in your ball,” Rhys snapped as he sat up properly from his sweat-dampened sleeping bag, rushing to regain a cool composure whilst his heart still raced.

Jack glared at him from the corner while still shaking the numbness from his fingers. Brows furrowing he debated tackling the idiot but considering how terrified Rhys still seemed, he chose against the reactive course of action. 

“I _was_ until you started _screaming_ ,” explained the Pokemon tersely as he returned to inspecting his hands.

Rhys stilled in hearing that. He'd been _screaming_? It might’ve been easier to believe that Jack was just lying but the Pokemon’s answer made for an understandable reason for the bite on his inner cheek. He grasped the zipper of his sleeping bag, undoing it to slip out. 

Had he really experienced a night terror again? The idea disturbed Rhys greatly. He had been so careful in overcoming them, and yet now it seemed all of his hard work would go out the window.

“What? I don't get an apology?” Jack's miffed voice interrupted the trainer's somber thoughts.

“Why? You were _groping_ me.”

“I was trying to _wake_ you, princess.” 

“By placing your hands near _my crotch_...”

“That's how _I_ like waking up,” Jack replied with a playful wink.

Rhys rolled his eyes, unable to handle the hybrid’s absurd reasoning. He adjusted the lighting in his palm, no longer requiring it to be so bright as it could attract unwanted attention of the more nocturnal creatures in the forest. 

The legendary wasn't quite ready to let the matter drop, however, as he waited for just the right moment that Rhys was preoccupied to strike. 

“Jack! I command you to get off!” Rhys shouted angrily as he'd just been tackled by the hybrid.

The small tent strained against their struggling but neither bothered to relent as they became a tangled mess of limbs.

“Get off, huh?!” Jack repeated back with a sinister smirk dancing on his lips, “So… I can get off _on you_ , right?”

Before Rhys could provide a scathing retort, Jack already managed to spin the younger man around so that he was facing the other way. Jack knew his trainer was bound to make use of that irksome cybernetic arm of his, so the Pokemon made quick work of it via the emergency disengagement switch at the pit of the arm. The way Rhys’ entire back tensed as the arm dropped like a deadweight from his shoulder was absolutely priceless. The legendary could only wish he'd seen his face. 

“What? Did you really think I wouldn't know about _that_? I worked with Hyperion for _years_ , kiddo,” the Pokemon reminded him mischievously as his tail whipped around the trainer’s lone wrist, hoisting it behind the both of them. 

Rhys felt his face burn red with embarrassment as his body was pressed flushed with the hybrid’s. Jack's arousal was no well-kept secret by the way it throbbed earnestly against the trainer’s lower back. The dragon was already emitting a guttural growl into the unblemished neck of his hostage. 

“You have no idea how much I've wanted this,” Jack breathed hungrily, his hands already wandering. 

The trainer grunted as he tried to pry his arm back from the beast only to have his arm twisted painfully as punishment.

“Nah ah ah, cupcake. There's no way I'm wastin' _this_ opportunity,” Jack insisted lustfully in the other’s ear before gently nipping it.

A tanned hand scoped the area of Rhys’ covered abdomen before finally sliding beneath the black tank top. 

“Jack, quit it!” Rhys ordered, voice dripping with resentment for the Pokemon, “Get back in your ball!”

“You're in no position to be giving _me_ orders, princess,” the legendary reminded him almost darkly with an underlying intent for violence. 

Rhys soon felt his tolerance crumpling to how well Jack touched him. How was this even possible? It was like…

_“Rhysie… You know you can't run from me…”_

The trainer trembled as he swore he heard the psychotic ring of his dead tormentor’s voice. The legendary took it as a sign of pleasure, however, as he advanced his ministrations a notch.

“Know what's funny?” Jack asked rhetorically just as he bit the very spot on his captive’s neck that always made him gasp, “I feel like I _know_ this body. Inside and out. Like I've had you _hundreds_ of times before.”

The dragon felt a soft tremoring against his legs, quickly noticing it was the involuntary quaking of his helpless trainer’s thighs. Rhys was aroused all right.

“Something the matter, pumpkin?” Jack teased as he lapped at each new wound he created on the porcelain skin, “You're _trembling_."

“Pl-Please get in your ball, Jack,” Rhys pleaded, unwilling to chance giving rise to any more of his suppressed memories. 

“ _Ohhh!_ So it's _please_ now! Kid, you're just too damn precious!” heckled the Pokemon as he pinched the delicate nub beneath his hand.

Rhys wanted to shirk away from the offending hand yet it only earned him another bite, only this time in a not so pleasurable spot on his bare shoulder. Tears of pain welled in his eyes yet he refused to shed them. He wouldn't give the insolent monster the satisfaction.

“Jack!” He yelled, uncaring of what heard them just outside the thin confines of the tent.

“Mmm. Yeah, babe, _that's_ my name. Now if I could only figure out what it is…” the legendary murmured as he snapped the elastic waistband around Rhys’ waist, “that makes me so crazy about ya.” 

Rhys flinched at the snap while keeping his focus straight ahead in a final attempt to drown Jack out. 

“Ya know, I knew about ya the second you came to the facility right?”

Rhys remained silent at the sudden revelation. He _hadn't_ known.

“It's like your scent was so friggin _familiar_. It drove me _crazy_ trying to figure out it was you, pumpkin.”

Another, almost accusing, waistband snap clipped Rhys’ hip. 

“But-”

Rhys had enough. He attempted to throw his head back into the dragon’s face. Jack easily sensed it coming, avoiding the attack with ease, and rewarding the action with another dreadful twist of his arm. A hand steadied Rhys’ head by gripping the auburn locks while a long, heated tongue traced his tear streaked cheek.

“Rhysie, sweetheart, don't be so **rude**. _Daddy’s talking._ ” Jack ground out the last bit as he strained Rhys’ arm one more time for good measure. 

This seemed to be enough as the Pokemon watched his trainer's lip tremble pathetically. Jack wanted nothing more than to have another taste, like from that time before in his vivarium, but he was certain the well coiffed haired idiot would surely make a death wish in biting him. 

Sighing, Jack settled for returning to his original fondling, keeping his head at the crook of Rhys’ neck to prevent another head butt attempt.

This guy was definitely something else.

“Hey, Rhys. You ever hear of a legendary getting captured over as pansy a move as Sweet Kiss?” Jack inquired lowly, sliding his hand further down.

“What's your _point_ , Jack?” Rhys hissed back while shifting uncomfortably as the hybrid massaged his inner thigh. 

His hand was unbearably close to the trainer’s arousal. Jack was obviously doing this on purpose, but for what reason, he couldn't be too sure.

“There's more to your little story, cupcake. Something _happened_ when you kissed me. Something,” he paused to find the right word, “Something _woke up_."

“You were afflicted with Confusion, Jack. It-”

“I _know_ what I'm talking about! Don't act like I don't!” Growled the Pokemon heatedly before reaching into the trainer’s pants to grasp him tightly.

“A-Ah! J-Jack, l-let go!” 

The fury on the hybrid’s face dissipated as he felt the sheer magnitude of his trainer’s withheld arousal.

“Geezus, _Rhysie_ , you're so friggin _hard_ right now,” Jack whispered rather impressed as his fingers tested out his trainer’s firmness by squeezing along the rigid shaft with growing excitement, “You feel like a damn _Steelix_ in my hand.”

“Sh-Shut up and unhand me right now,” his trainer demanded aggressively yet there was little he could do in his trapped position.

Jack loved the way he could force Rhys to arch his back with a single twist of his tail. The younger man had no choice but to follow his whims now. And despite how much the trainer tried not to show it, Jack could already feel the soft heat emanating from the other’s cheeks.

“I can't take it…” Jack finally admitted, sounding almost embarrassed, before hoisting Rhys atop his lap with a needy moan.

Rhys stiffened at the feeling of the Jack’s twitching bulge against the thin fabric of his sweats. Had the hybrid already removed his own pants somehow? The thought had him attempting to pull away again but Jack had other plans as he ground Rhys’ hips against him. 

“J-Jack, stop! Th-this is-” Rhys shut his eyes, failing to block the sensations out.

“Sorry, but not sorry, Rhysie,” came Jack's lust drunk reply as he continued to use his trainer as his personal humping post.

The trainer opened his mouth to reprimand Jack's lewd tactics but was surprised as a groan escaped him instead. Jack had somehow found a very good position, and the handsome hybrid noticed it too with a cocky grin. He continued his grind via the new angle, even trading places hand for tail in order to have a chance to stroke his trainer again. Rhys wasn't used to being held up by Jack's tail before, it being much thicker than-

He shook his head with refusal to think the bastard’s name. Not when the legendary beneath him was doing _such_ a good job. The ecstasy was winning out in Rhys’ brain. 

Rhys threw his freed hand over his mouth to muffle a cry as Jack grasped him again, ardently pumping him.

“This is _much_ better, ain't it kiddo?” the legendary insisted enthusiastically, trailing hungry nips along Rhys’ neck. 

But Rhys was already gone. 

\--

_“This is better, ain't it kiddo?”_

_Handsome Jack smirked down at his nearly broken toy, shuddering with each patient thrust. He had the auburn haired youth’s legs up in the air while the rest of him was strewn across Professor Hyperion’s desk. He held a firm grip on back of Rhys’ knees despite the kid being in no condition to escape him even if he wanted to._

_“You finally stop tryin’ ta leave and look. Daddy's finally able to **treat** ya,” the legendary explained with soft exasperation as he stroked the underside his pet’s thoroughly bitten thigh._

_Rhys clutched crumpled Hyperion forms to his sweat and cum matted chest. His hazy eyes locked miserably on the cybernetic prize that dangled over him, suspended by tungsten wiring several feet above the desk. The appendage was state of the art, beckoning promises of a more secure tomorrow. It was his captor’s gift to him, but only if he succeeded…_

_The message was clear: Be a good boy and Handsome Jack will make you a **full** human again. _

_Jack’s hostage was still exhausted from the numerous other sessions they had executed within that same evening, but it didn't stop the disaster dragon’s hot tongue as it licked the sweat from Rhys’ inner knee coaxingly. The naked captive shivered weakly more from the inevitable inquiry concerning his academic progress, and oh how he loathed it. He didn't want to become a professor and in turn take on his family’s heritage as an Atlas._

_'Carry the weight of the world.’_

_What a terrible situation to remember his family’s motto… But what weight was he possibly carrying now, besides the shame of having been converted to an insane Pokemon’s favorite living fleshlight…_

_“Sooo how're your studies goin’, pumpkin?” Handsome Jack rumbled casually before placing a kiss on Rhys’ calf._

_There it was…_

_The younger man bit lip, trembling with need to cry out but knew the beast before him too well to even dare. He wanted to scream at the legendary with all his pent up frustration. Rhys didn't want the title of Professor Atlas. He didn't want to study Pokemon anymore. Not after all the bloodshed Crimper and his gang caused. He just… He just wanted to break away from it all._

_His silent resistance never went unnoticed around as, yet again, the end of the dark type’s tail encircled the already bruised flesh of Rhys' Throat..._

_" **Rhysie** ,” Handsome Jack's voice warned, bearing a murderous tremor, “We **talked** about this.”_

_His pet writhed against the surface of the desk yet he had learned well never to touch the disaster dragon’s tail._

_His oppressor ripped people's arms off for less…_

_“J-Jack…” Rhys croaked out while eyeing him frightfully while fighting the urge to reach for his neck._

_“We had a **deal** , didn't we? You study up and become the professor I tell you to, and **what** do you get in return?”_

_Handsome Jack’s relaxed his hold on his pet’s windpipe as he watched those mismatched eyes blink painstakingly up at the mechanized appendage above them._

_“Thaaaat's right. But somehow that hasn't been **enough** for you lately, has it cupcake?”_

_Rhys tensed considerably as the seeming devil incarnate leaned forward, pushing his legs to his chest uncomfortably as the thrusts eased to a torturous halt. He quivered beneath the dangerous tyrant’s swollen member filling him mercilessly to the brim with no additional movement. The eridium spined tail maneuvered its prisoner’s chin so to stare intrusively into those watery heterochromatic eyes, searching them. Soon, a sickening grin crossed the legendary’s face as he reached out to trace the underside of Rhys’ blind eye with his thumb._

_"Don't worry, babe. I'm gonna make you **perfect**.” _

_He made the other gasp out as he returned the violent fervor in his thrusts, demolishing the other’s hips into the dead man’s desk with renewed appetite._

_“Daddy has **just** the thing.” _

\---

Rhys gave a shuddering gasp for air as he felt his body go rigid, an explosive climax escaping him into a deliciously soft warmth. A generous suction on his member coaxed his eyes into remaining shut. An unmistakeable tongue coiled around him, gently tugging him. Rhys finally glanced down between his legs to find his dragon there, enjoyably drinking him up. The sight alone elicited another shudder as Jack was staring back at him with an uncharacteristic level of submissiveness. 

Where the hell was that expression when he told him to get back in the damn ball? But even Rhys had a difficult time being angry right after a _really_ good orgasm, albeit forced.

“J-Jack… Wh-What’re you-” he started but a flick of a long tongue against the sensitive tip of his cock drove him to a pathetic whine.

The Pokemon hummed on his partner’s length in appreciation of the sound before releasing his trainer’s softening member from his lips. 

“Now _that's_ what I call music to my ears,” the legendary chuckled smoothly.

Jack rose to a crawl as he pressed his forehead to that of his flushed partner. Rhys shifted his eyes away but he could still feel Jack quietly inspecting his face. What was he even looking for? And… when did the legendary start sucking him off? 

Rhys realized bitterly that he had blacked out again. His fingers curled angrily against his soon to be bruised hip. At least he could be grateful that Jack didn't seem to notice his ‘departure.’ 

But the Hero of Elpis was about to bring up a far more pressing issue...

“Rhys… I'm not a guy against believing in things like destiny or fate, I mean look at me. But seriously, kiddo, ya seem _way_ too familiar ta me,” the legendary confided to him while brushing back one of Rhys’ stray bangs, eyeing him intently, “What I'm trying to say is… Did we know each other?”

Rhys strained himself with all he had in keeping a straight face. He couldn't. No matter how gentle or attentive the Pokemon seemed to him right now… He just _couldn't_.

Not now. Not ever. 

“No. _We_ didn't.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'd like to thank all you incredible folks for still following this mad tale. Honestly, your wonderful support is what pushes this to stay alive.   
> There was quite a bit to this chapter so feel free to voice any thoughts!   
> What is this 'Vault Sphere' Rhys fears?   
> Why did Handsome Jack force Rhys to become Professor Atlas?  
> And how is it that the newly revived Jack has lingering muscle memory with Rhys?  
> So many questions! What are some of yours? I'd love to see them as well as what you think might happen next!   
> Till we next meet... in the Bleeding Vale. 
> 
> http://spycethra.tumblr.com/


	4. More Wounds

Maliwan slunk low within her private chair. The glass wall behind her was pitch black with the occasional therapeutic ripple. Rain audio emanated softly from her corner speakers. 

The week had gone to complete shit and no amount of time in her secluded hideaway seemed to change that. 

Dahl had already declared martial law for the Pandora region. This would inevitably become a huge blow to the already struggling economic structure. Pandora had many pressing issues, especially after the bloody crusade led by Handsome Jack, but adding higher tariffs and prohibiting sky traffic was taking the matter to inappropriate extremes. 

Pandorans were strained just to get anything remotely edible into their mouths, but naturally, a super military power such as Dahl could never spare a moment to care. Maliwan proceeded to shift her swivel chair side to side as she recalled the legendary that boldly claimed that he would ‘cleanse Pandora of filth.’ A sad smile crossed her features. 

Handsome Jack was a lot of things, but his production rate of agricultural goods as well as clean water through the continued construction of Opportunity had been projected to save thousands. That is… if only Team Bandit hadn't destroyed it after his execution… 

The muscles in the young professor’s back clenched as she spun full circle in even deeper thought. 

Team Bandit. There was no telling what the mad organization’s true intentions were at this point, or ever. They ran strictly on the fumes of violence and the screams of their tormented. There were no lines of loyalty, only fatal delirium. 

Maliwan ground her teeth together as her stress levels spiked. She was supposed to be calming down, yet here she was nearly drowning in the strangest regret. 

If only Handsome Jack completed his task… If only he hadn't blurred the lines of friend and foe… If only… 

Her mind failed to cease her unnerving spiral of destructive thinking. 

There was nothing the professors could do to even slow Dahl’s growing influence. The loss of Jack to a complete unknown was grave with the Pokemon professors taking the brunt of the blame. The public had already begun to lose faith in their ability to handle the problem which was just what Dahl needed to finally assert its authority on the troubled region.

However, it was never a matter of protecting the citizens. They were already dying from poverty and the typical random acts of cannibalism. No, the Dahl admiral himself only wanted Jack dead; if that gave him more power in the world, then so be it. 

What the old fool continued to fail in understanding was that Jack had _no memories_ of the events that transpired after his defeating Dahl’s prized Zarpedon. Professor Maliwan had made sure of that herself. She was the lead neurosurgeon that had painstakingly reconstructed the legendary’s mind after all. With his sordid past, Jack was a hell of a challenge to recreate…

The order from Dahl had been simple. They requisitioned that the revived legendary never engage in rampages unless _ordered_. She wasn’t a fool as she knew that their true demands consisted of the development of the perfect weapon, forever void of autonomy. 

Even after what his evolutionary counterpart had done to her and her sisters, Maliwan couldn’t bring herself to undergo lobotomizing the stubborn mind she had poured so much of herself in reassembling. Every neural connection, every synapse, and even the neurological framework throughout the dragon’s body had been her handiwork. Jack was her indisputable magnum opus. 

But still, the risk of allowing such a mind to exist bore so many moral complications…

And then the message came.

Mysteriously, a heartfelt message from the ever-so clandestine Professor Atlas created a tremble in her resolve. No one had heard from the perfect-scoring savant in years, yet here she had invoked the prodigy’s attention. The unknown professor gently introduced caustic concepts to her, somehow knowing the discourse pulsing through her veins while Dahl breathed down her neck. Her hidden associate was very honest of the possibility of her becoming the subtle equivalent of a murderer or even worse, a mere child playing god. Atlas beseeched her to save the beast as he once was, to alter nothing, and to seek redemption through returning a necessary hero to the world. 

They had never met. This was even their first and only interaction. Even so, Maliwan somehow felt like he could understand, that perhaps… he could be trusted. 

_“Atlas holds the world. Should the hearts residing inside begin to waver, only Atlas can prevail.”_ A guiding voice eased her mind. 

The reclusive professor was correct in their flawlessly projected calculations of Pandora region falling into absolute disarray. Maliwan still recalled how crudely her stomach wretched at the disturbing consideration that Handsome Jack actually _helped_ in deterring those very gruesome numbers when he was alive. But he had. 

It was these sorts of circumstances that left Maliwan wondering why the hell she kept working as a pokemon professor… Dahl oppression. No public support. Team Bandit. Constant berating from people who simply didn’t matter… 

_“It’s your callin’. Can’t ya see? They said you couldn't be good at anything. But now look at ya.”_  
  
Opening her sharp azure eyes, she saw her pale reflection on her empty computer screen. Her dark hair was askew as it draped every which way. Her hand twitched to fix it but she stopped herself with a wince. 

_“Don’t worry. Just keep being a good little girl. It’ll all make sense soon.”_

Maliwan felt her skin crawl at the voice that still haunted her every day dream. Gritting her teeth, she focused on the reality in front of her. She didn’t have to part her hair that way anymore. She wasn’t… She wasn’t _that girl._ No matter how many times Handsome Jack had demanded it just because... they happened to look alike…

The professor managed to crack a bitter smile at the screen, trying hard not to fall apart.

No one encountered the disaster dragon without coming back several levels of fucked up. There was never a proper rehabilitation for those Handsome Jack had captured and ultimately tortured to the brink of madness. Even now, she continued to spend her life trapped with his soft fatherly murmurs coupled with memories of wires lodged mercilessly beneath her skin. She shuddered as her scars produced an eerie warmth at the far too lucid memory.

Her fingers drummed emptily against her armrest as she eyed her unchanging reflection. The bastard even went so far as to freeze every telomere in her body, thereby forever imprisoning her in the body of a seventeen-year-old. Yet even still… she _pitied him_.

The doors to her private office slid open revealing Professor Vladof who had far too many flavored vapors wafting around her as she briskly entered. The red haired woman looked even worse than Maliwan did, lab coat barely on her slouched shoulders while terrible dark circles dragged beneath her eyes. The loss of Jack hit the facility hard… and Vladof was facing the worst of it for having allowed the pair to leave. 

“Malivan, ve must talk.” 

\----

Jack wasn’t in the best shape as he chose to glide just behind his trainer as they neared the edge of the blasted woods. Literally blasted. He nearly razed the entire thing when the Hoot Hoots wouldn’t shut the hell up. Then, there was the issue of Rhys. The man would go to sleep only to end up with night terrors almost every few hours. In turn, his trainer wouldn’t stop _screaming_. Eventually, Jack figured out that by simply sneaking out of his ball and rubbing his trainer’s back and shoulders that Rhys would gradually calm back down. 

Apparently boring gentleness was more effective a cure than a mind-blowing dick suck from a legendary. The dragon hybrid huffed with annoyance to himself while fending off the urge to yawn. He had even gone so far as to let Rhys have his tail to hug onto, and Jack _hated_ his tail being touched. Despite Jack’s discomfort, his ministrations had been very successful in soothing the slumbering trainer. 

Of course, Rhys didn’t realize a damn thing as he grumpily strode in front of the legendary, holographic map floating over his robotic palm. 

“How much _further_?” whined Jack mid-yawn while eliciting a glare from his trainer.

“Jack, you’re floating,” Rhys reminded him with clear annoyance laced in his tone. 

His dragon frowned back at him. Jack began to reconsider having fled back into his ball as Rhys had been waking up earlier that day. He wasn’t the type to like being caught being sweet after all. It wasn’t part of his badass reputation… but he wasn’t a total dick in allowing someone to suffer like that. That and… something in his blood demanded he do something about it. 

As though it hadn’t been the first time… 

“So? You tryin’ ta say this doesn’t take effort?” Jack snipped back speeding up a little to glide right beside the cybernetic man.

“Well-Argh! Jack!!” The dragon had purposefully tail whipped his trainer on the ass with a smug look. 

“Because you’d be _right_. But that’s not important. Ya want this place to stick around as some stupid habitat thing right? Well, let’s get _moving_. I’m so sick of this place. I swear, if we spend _one more_ night here, I’m calling Hyperion for Moonshots,” he threatened not-so-playfully as the fatigue on his face began to show itself. 

The trainer eyed his dragon with a bit more worry this time as he massaged his behind. That was definitely leaving a mark… He wanted to ask why Jack seemed so tired, but a part of him felt like the dragon wouldn’t tell him the truth anyway. So instead, he focused on a question that felt far more pressing. 

“You know Hyperion?” Rhys raised a brow skeptically at the legendary. 

No one had ever seen Hyperion. He was just as mysterious as the newcomer Professor Atlas. After Handsome Jack’s hostile takeover of Helios, it was even rumored that there would never be another Professor Hyperion ever again… Except there had been soon after the disaster dragon’s demise. As for who that was, no one knew. 

But this one had far more benevolence than their predecessors. Towns like Outlook, New Haven, and Sanctuary had been reinforced with proper security to keep out bandits as well as medical facilities and minor agricultural advancements. They were far from perfect, but they had become actually livable thanks to Hyperion’s influence. Loaderbots patrolling the roads had become a norm and the death walls were nothing to laugh at. It was rumored that Hyperion was stationed deep within Helios region but none succeeded in finding him. 

“Uh, duh. What kind of question is that? I’ll _always_ know Hyperion. I own half of Helios after all.” 

_That_ made Rhys slow to a halt as he slowly turned around. Jack _owned_ property? It wasn’t exactly a ‘thing’ for Pokemon to have property signed over to them… much less half a region. 

Jack’s smirk only grew as he dove slightly to pick up his pace to fly just in front of his trainer, face barely hovering inches over Rhys. 

“What? Want me now that you know I’m _rich?_ Don’t worry, babe. I don’t mind if your shallow like the rest. Just let me have a taste of that-mmmff.” 

Rhys shoved his flesh hand into the dragon’s face to clearly reject his perverted advancements with an exasperated look. 

“Still not interested, Jack!” 

It was exhausting to the trainer at how much optimistic energy his Pokemon had. Then again, that was typically their natural state, constantly excited. He barely flinched as Jack seized his shoulders in response only to watch the legendary flip over him. Rhys paid no mind as he continued to watch for possible enemy troops that might choose to canvas the forest for them. Jack had a thing for showing off anyway.

“Rhysiiiie, come oooon,” his legendary whined, “I didn’t even get off last night. Talk about unfair. You owe me one, princess!” 

Rhys tensed a little as his pace slowed. That… actually had been bothering him. Why didn’t Jack take advantage of him back then? The trainer had become putty in the legendary’s arms, unable to defend himself or even say no. Jack could have gone so much further than what he had… and yet he didn’t.

_“Rule number one, kiddo! It’s not when you’re ready. It’s when I’M ready.”_

The trainer stopped walking to brace himself against a nearby tree. A Spearow had the great plan to try and launch a sneak attack, yet Jack had other plans as he batted the bird with a single backhand, knocking it out with ease as it collided back into the tree whence it came.

“Rhys?” he inquired lowly as he noted something off about the auburn haired man suddenly becoming shaky out of nowhere. 

“Why didn’t you then?” 

“Why didn’t I what?” Jack asked, honestly not following the other man’s train of thought, as he tilted his head while landing on the ground nearby.

His trainer didn’t look all right… Something was definitely wrong. 

Rhys took deep breaths as he did his best to shut Handsome Jack out. It was strange… Even with the disaster Pokemon dead, it was like he somehow ingrained himself into the trainer’s head. He fought the urge to yell in frustration, but was surprised when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Jack watching him ever so attentively. 

“...Why didn’t you just take it? You had your chance. You know, back then. You could have. Why didn’t you?” Rhys shot at him accusingly while regretful that he couldn’t just relax under the dragon’s touch. 

He hated having to be on guard all the time. Jack looked genuinely concerned, but Rhys just couldn’t stop thinking about the evolutionary counterpart that tormented him years ago. The dragon seemed to note the tightening of Rhys’ muscles from the contact and gradually pulled his hand away in disappointment. 

“Not sure about what sort of toxic relationships you’ve had, kiddo, but that’s… definitely not my thing. I tend to lean more on the side of my partners being, oh I dunno, _wet and willing?_ " 

The trainer felt his back press against the tree as Jack neared him with the sort of confidence Rhys simply wasn’t used to. The legendary was grinning, obviously trying to lighten things, as he placed his hands against the bark at the sides of Rhys’ head before leaning close yet again. 

“If I’m gonna have ya, I want ya willin’. It’s no good if you’re just there takin’ it, you know? Sure, it might feel great for me but… eh… Is it so crazy that I want you to like me?” 

It was incredibly surreal to watch someone so far in Handsome Jack’s likeness act so… Rhys couldn’t pin down what it was, but his cheeks were warming more than he would have liked as he averted his gaze. The crook of Jack’s finger gently pushed his chin back to face him, much to the trainer’s embarrassment. Were they really having this conversation _right now?_

“How many boyfriends have ya had, Rhys?” 

Rhys swallowed hard at the question. It wasn’t one he ever really had to think about, and now that he was… he was horribly dismayed by the answer he had come up with. 

Why were they even talking about this? They had a mission to focus on and yet… yet Rhys still struggled to deny that handsome face nearly anything when it was this close. 

“..O-One..” he admitted defeatedly, “..I-I think… Though he might not have counted it…”

The cybernetic man felt his eyes become glassy at the thought. One lover… and it may not have even counted. How old was he now? No. None of that mattered. So what if he’d never have a normal life? Technically he considered himself dead the day he became abducted by the monster that was Handsome Jack… So why did it still hurt to think about it?

Returning his focus to his palm, he relit the map as he tried to engage Jack back to the task at hand. They needed to move forward. There was no use considering his lack of social connection. Besides, it was… it was better that way.

“It really doesn’t matter. We really should-” 

Rhys stopped as he felt the tree behind him heat up while Jack’s expression twisted into something _terrible._ He dropped his hand and eyed the dragon with a growing terror. A crackling from above caused him to look up to see the whole upper half of the tree had become ablaze with a bright yellow flame, Jack’s trademark, as dozens of bird and bug Pokemon fled for their lives. Branches threatened to fall on them but disintegrated into ash before ever reaching them. 

“Sounds like a reeeeaaal asshole to me, Rhysie,” he growled more bestial than man. 

Rhys debated on charging his arm in self defense, but Jack was watching him so fiercely, the trainer ended up more worried for what the consequences for sudden movements might be. 

“J-Jack… Calm down. I, I don’t know why you’re so upset but-”

“Are you friggin’ _kidding_ me!?” roared his Pokemon with wings fully stretched out, causing more wildlife to scatter from their general vicinity. 

When a legendary was angry, the entire forest was going to feel it which meant only the worst if Dahl patrol groups caught sight of it. The trainer was at a loss for how to calm the dragon hybrid down as he was well aware that Jack with wings fully extended meant someone was going to die. And so far, Rhys was the only one standing right in front of the infuriated being. 

“Jack, please, _please_ just calm down.” 

Then there it was… past the bright eyes, gritted sharp teeth, and heavy breathing, Rhys caught sight of a metallic glimmer forming on the side of Jack’s face. 

_A clamp._

Rhys felt his entire world freeze over at the sight. He had always known Jack had the capacity to evolve into Handsome Jack but to think he was _this close_ was more than just unnerving. It was absolutely jarring, which was why the trainer knew he had to act soon before it came into full form. 

“Rhys, you’re-!” Jack paused mid-scream as he felt Rhys suddenly hugging onto him, kissing along his neck and jawline desperately. 

“It’s okay. Jack, it’s _okay_. Please, let it be _okay_ …” 

“Kiddo, wh-what’re ya doing?” questioned the dragon, his volume dropping dramatically, as he remained perfectly still. 

The flames began to die down. The tree was barely much more than a burnt stalk. Jack kept his arms up regardless, unwilling to risk scaring away his sudden physical attention. But then something felt off… He kept feeling Rhys’ wet cheeks graze him which perturbed the dragon. Was Rhys _forcing_ himself? With an angry growl, he grabbed the trainer before pushing him away. 

There it was. Those obvious tear stained cheeks shined right in front of him. Jack huffed with irritation at the sight. Why was Rhys doing this? 

“Rhys, what the hell?” he demanded aloud, still gripping the other man by his shoulders. 

It was strange seeing his trainer tremble the way he was doing now. And Rhys’ face seemed to contort into something awful… He had the face of someone aiming to please yet his eyes were clearly dead. Who the hell _did_ this to him? The dragon felt his tail sling into the ground from frustration, leaving a small crater behind as it lifted away. 

“Wh-What’s wrong? I… Was I doing it wrong? N-Not fast enough? Too fast?” 

Jack felt ill just watching him like this. The kid was so far gone, as if he was talking to someone else. The realization made Jack’s blood boil. Rhys was somehow envisioning his sick ex. This had happened the time before too… The only way he could get the other man to remotely enjoy himself was to surprise him by getting him off. 

The dragon could already tell Rhys’ ex was the type to never care to get his partner off. He never tended to him. He just looked out for himself.

And that _seriously_ pissed Jack off. 

“No. No. Stop. Just stop,” Jack insisted yet felt terrible as Rhys seemed to practically shrivel at his command, “Cupcake, this isn’t… I’m not him. I don’t know why you seem to think so, maybe cuz he was the only thing ya ever had but… Not everyone’s like that prick. Got me? I know I’m not. So… Look, if you’re gonna touch me, then mean- No!” 

Rhys had tried to reach for him again but those damn eyes were killing the legendary to see. Where had the proud, stoic trainer gone? Jack pushed his trainer away, accidentally causing Rhys to stumble and fall down which created a stiff tension between them. 

“Shit, Rhys, I didn’t- I-” 

“It’s fine.” Rhys didn’t look at him, instead that pathetic fake smile replastering itself on his lips, “Do what you want, Jack… It’s fine.” 

Jack couldn’t stand it. Rhys was _used_ to this shit. 

“...It’s not fine,” the legendary declared firmly.

Jack spoke so quiet that the cybernetic man couldn’t help but turn to him slightly, still not quite bothering to get up, that is until his Pokemon hoisted him up bridal style. They both knew how much Rhys hated that. 

“J-Jack!! What are you- Put me down! Now, Jack!! Jaaaack!!” Rhys yelled as the legendary merely twirled them round and round, the momentum making the trainer sick. 

The legendary Pokemon smirked broadly at having shattered the curse Rhys’ ex had forged upon him. He even _purred_ from hearing his trainer get angry again. It was a far better improvement than that depressing submissive nonsense. Jack held his trainer tight despite his squirming, even playfully nuzzling at him up until Rhys seized him threateningly by the horns. 

“Grrrnngh…” the legendary grunted as he tried to bear the attack, but Rhys wasn’t letting up as he yanked at his Pokemon’s horns. 

“Jack. Put. Me. DOWN.” 

“G-Got it, cupcake,” Jack surrendered with a pained smirk before easing his trainer out of his arms, “Feelin’ better?” 

“You… Ugh,” Rhys covered his mouth as he tried to stand straight to little avail, “I just can’t keep up with you…” 

Jack merely grinned in response but as his trainer seemed to feel better, he felt a tight urge within his chest. Rhys was normal again for now but… for how long? Things were slowly starting to click for the Pokemon as he recalled the other man’s night terrors from the night prior. His jaw clenched slightly as he made up his mind.

Throwing a charming smile on his face, Jack strolled up to his trainer with his hands in his pockets, oddly feeling rather shy for what he was about to say. He never had issues before with anyone else… Rhys was his first one. Well, the first one to reject him so many times. But what he had in mind still needed to be said, especially if his monstrous ex was still out there somewhere. 

Jack wasn’t going to let him have Rhys. No fucking way. 

“Hey, pumpkin! News flash! You’re mine, got it? A-And I’m yours! Because... “ Jack was struggling to get his thoughts together, far too stressed out to think straight, “Because that’s just how it is. You chose me Rhys. Didn’t ya? You picked _me_."

He eyed the trainer almost desperately for him to say something. When Rhys stayed quiet, Jack ran a nervous hand through his dark upturned hair. 

“Look, I’m… I’m shit with these things. But you’re mine… a-as long as you wanna be. Get that? You gotta want to. I ain’t forcing shit on you. I refuse to be _that asshole_. Whoever the hell he is. Unless you want me to go kill him myself, then I suggest you never tell me the prick’s name. And believe me, I will make that asshole’s death _slow_."

Jack hated how Rhys remained completely unresponsive. The legendary was trying his damndest and still the trainer wouldn’t give him even the tiniest hint as to whether or not he was saying the right thing to cheer the him up.. 

“Kiddo, _say something!_ I’m spilling my- my _whatever_ out to ya here!” 

Rhys couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Did Jack just… _confess_ to him? At least in his odd roundabout way of doing so. Before he could control himself, a sputtered laugh spill from his lips along with another until he was completely letting it go. His dragon seemed to almost pout with angry eyes as he stomped the ground. 

“Seriously? This isn’t funny! I’m- You know what, Rhysie, screw you too! I take it all back! ALL of it!” the legendary snapped before reaching out, causing his pokeball to open wide at Rhys’ hip before retreating inside. 

The trainer failed to restrain a smile that graced his face as he unclipped the pokeball to hold in his hand. It was warmer than usual which typically meant Jack was either angry or embarrassed. In this case, Rhys felt it was safe to determine that he was feeling a bit of both.

“Hey, Jack?” he called down to the ball, knowing full well the dragon could hear him, “...Thanks.” 

The sphere merely shifted about nervously in response as the metal grew hotter. 

\-----

Clicking a switch at her desk, the doors returned to being shut only this time appearing part of the wall so as not to be disturbed. Only two other professors knew of her secret hideaway but neither were currently present at the facility. Her heart squeezed thinking of Jakobs. She hoped he was all right. The emergency had him scouring Pandora with his top security members to contain the situation before Admiral Dahl. He was probably running on healing hypos and adrenaline at this point. 

“I know ze trainer,” Vladof spoke finally, breaking through Maliwan’s thoughts of Jakobs, “I recognize him. It vas long time ago, but I remember.” 

The younger looking scientist sat a little straighter in her seat, not bothering to tone down her rainfall track. 

“Yeah?” 

“Do you remember zat brat at Gortys unveiling?” 

Maliwan raised a thin brow back at her. A brat at the Gortys unveiling? But that was such a long time ago. She marveled at how Vladof could remember faces with just a glance even if she never spoke to them again in years. Tugging at a loose strand of hair near her face, Maliwan shook her head. 

“Not really. I was more focused-” she began to explain yet her voice fell to silence at the sight of Vladof moving with purpose.

The red haired woman didn’t even wait for her colleague’s full reply, tapping onto her ECHO pad that revealed a set of holographic pictures between them. The photographs had been tagged in an article detailing the event. Maliwan’s eyes then widened as her mouth fell agape. 

It was him. 

Her eyes traced the picture for the small subprint description that entailed all the individuals within the picture… and there it was.

_Rhys… **Atlas**. _

There was no way. Her mind buzzed with absolute disbelief. Atlas. ATLAS. HER Atlas… with a KID? And he wasn’t just a scrawny little thing either, he was _grown_ \- well into his twenties from what Maliwan could tell. 

“D-Did Atlas have a psychotic break and chose to marry or something? No, she had to be intoxicated right? Wait, maybe an inebriated adoption? Vladof, wh-what is this? What the _heck_ am I looking at right now?” 

The concept of Atlas bearing a child of her own just seemed too… _improbable_. The woman was a lot of things but _nurturing_ was never one of them. 

“Non. Non. Non. Zat-” The woman took a series of puffs from her vape, the answer already successfully managing to stress her out as she massaged her temples with one hand, “Zat is her secret bastard.” 

\-----

After a short while of walking around, Jack (expectedly) became bored in his pokeball as he came back out. Rhys still wore a smile much to the expense of his pokemon as he continued to trail their progress out of the forest. To change the subject, the legendary floated near his trainer while making yet another mention of his exorbitant wealth as if to seduce the cybernetic man to his side. 

“Uh huh. You and the professor no one has ever seen must be great friends,” Rhys replied with a much softer sarcasm than usual. 

“What? Still don’t believe me?” The hybrid then dug into his jacket and produced his _own Echo_ that made Rhys’ jaw drop. 

Jack pressed a few keys before producing a small earpiece that was attached to the headset. He stared around, flicking his tail with impatience as the soft ringtone sounded. 

“C’moooon, Hyperion. I wasn’t gonna call ya, but Rhysie here thinks I don’t know you. So pick up!” 

He suddenly smirked, pressing a switch on the Echo device which moved the call to speaker. 

“Hey, Hyperion. How’s it going?” he greeted easily.

A synthesized voice came through which sounded distinctly male. 

“ _Jack, why did you leave the facility? Everyone is in a panic._ ” 

“Yeah, well, maybe they should’ve let me out more,” he grumbled a little, his smile falling.

“ _You know very well why they kept you there._ ” 

Rhys watched Jack in midst of his phone call while feeling almost entirely floored at the sight. Jack actually knew Hyperion. _The_ Hyperion. 

“What? Because I killed people? Oh, I’m sorry that _self defense_ suddenly stopped being a thing,” the dragon snipped as his mood only seemed to worsen. 

“ _I know, Jack. But it’s as I’ve told you before. Everyone is still very afraid. They’ve lost sight of the Hero of Elpis. Now all they see-_ ”

“Is Handsome Jack, _I know,_ ” Jack spat loathingly, “Hey, I actually need something from you though, and don’t tell me to just go back to the facility. Unfreeze my accounts. I’m gonna need ‘em. And I know for a fact that you’re just the guy to do that.” 

“ _They’ll track you,_ ” warned Hyperion with what sounded like sincerity. 

“Track _me_? That’s cute. Did ya forget who you were talkin’ to, kiddo? I can hack anything. Trackers don’t mean diddly ta me,” the legendary replied pompously as he waved his hand around dismissively.

“ _...I’ll unfreeze the accounts-_ "

Rhys’ eyes almost bulged out of his head. The accounts were **real**.

“ _Finally._ ” Jack smirked in his trainer’s direction, relishing his reaction, “Someone that sees reason. I always liked that about ya, Hyperion. You always-”

“ _As long as you report your whereabouts and intentions to me every step of the way._ ” 

“...Wow. I thought we had a better relationship than this, Hyperion,” Jack remarked sarcastically yet he already knew that there would be little to no negotiating the matter. 

“ _Dahl is after you, Jack. Be sure to let your trainer know that their forces have been ordered to fire on sight._ ” 

The duo exchanged glances as the severity of the situation just amplified itself. 

“Fire on sight, huh?” Jack repeated darkly while feeling himself grow all the more irked at this new world he seemed to step into, “Handsome Jack really did ruin everything…”

“ _There’s one more thing._ "

“Ugh. What?” 

“ _Beware of Atlas._ ”

Rhys visibly tensed at the mention of the name, his lips forming a tight line. 

Eerily enough, Jack was staring directly at him as he calmly carried the conversation forward. 

“ _Oh?_ And why is _that_?” 

“ _He’s trying to kill you._ ” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dunnnn.  
> Who is Professor Hyperion?  
> Is Rhys really trying to kill Jack?  
> ...Does Jack know who Rhys really is? 
> 
> Thanks everyone for your delightful patience. This chapter was a huge struggle but here it is~! Lemmie know what you thought about it in the comments.
> 
> And yes. There is a conspiracy in this story. Oh how I love twists...  
> As for the woods, they'll leave next chapter. (Sorry!) But at least you'll get a fan favorite to show up!
> 
> TimTams~! 
> 
>  
> 
> Hit me up for fanfic updates or even just to chat! <3  
> http://spycethra.tumblr.com/


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